


Cold Cold Cold

by kristsune



Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Frost Bite, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, and this is an extreme sooo, cave ins, definitely worse, going from really fucking cold to even mostly warm hurts like a bitch, injuries, no major descriptions but definitely mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-30
Updated: 2018-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-11 16:30:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13528155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kristsune/pseuds/kristsune
Summary: Jesse gets trapped in a cave in, and the others have to go get him out.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, i started this last May, wrote 90% of it then got distracted. Looked at it the other day and realized my first chapter was basically done, and had been for at least 6 months. Welp. Better late than never. Please enjoy <3  
> Also. Don't look up images for frostbite blisters, you will regret it.  
> Caliber and Killer belong to [Jesse](http://thebisexualmandalorian.tumblr.com/)

Jesse woke up with a pounding headache, and the realization that he couldn’t see. 

No, scratch that. There was a faint glow coming from a few yards away. It was just  _ very _ dark. 

He tried to move, but was met with resistance and extreme pain. He was pretty sure he yelled before passing out again.

When he was aware of himself again, he started to piece together what had happened. He was in an ice cave system. He had stayed behind to make sure the 501st wasn’t being tailed by the seps. He had just determined that they were in the clear when there had been an explosion. Which caused a cave in. Which left him here.

Well. Fuck.

He tried to move again, much more carefully, and found his leg was stuck under a rather large hunk of what used to be the ceiling. Must be broken bad, with the constant level of pain he was in. He was pretty sure it was all contained, but he had no idea on internal hemorrhaging. Jesse did a quick assessment to find some cracks in his armor, including a large one down the center of his visor, but nothing completely broken open. So barring the broken leg, he hopefully  _ shouldn’t _ bleed out. But he really couldn’t be sure without being able to see anything.

He would give anything to have Kix here. And not just for his medical expertise. 

The next thing he did was check his wrist comm, which seemed to have been knocked off in the collapse because his entire gauntlet was missing. 

Double fuck.

Which is exactly when he noticed he had started shivering. Trapped on the icy cold floor, with cracks in his armor, did not provide a proper barrier from the frigid air in the cave. 

Triple fuck.

He checked his belt pouch, thank all the little gods, he still had his thermal blanket. He tucked it around his core the best he could. There was nothing he could do for his leg, and trying to keep his extremities warm was a fruitless endeavor. He already knew it was a lost cause. 

He wasn’t entirely sure why he was even bothering. He wasn’t worth coming back for. They were out, they were  _ safe _ . Coming back would just put them at risk. Knowing Kix, and the others were safe, was at least a little comfort. He continued to tuck the blanket under him anyway. Must be legacy of Jango. A survivor. 

Jesse didn’t know how long he had been there, but he  _ did _ know, the shivering was so bad it kept sending sharp spikes of pain up his leg. He wasn’t quite sure how much more of this he would be able to take. All his muscles were aching and tense from the shivering and the pain. His breathing was labored, and he was sweating, which was freezing on his skin.

Jesse may not be a medic, but he had listened to Kix enough to know he wasn’t doing well. He couldn’t tell when he had his eyes open anymore, the glow a little ways off died some time ago, and the darkness was complete. 

One of the last thoughts he had before he slipped into unconsciousness, was that he hoped that Kix would make it through the war, that he would have a chance to be  _ free _ , and happy.

\-------

Jesse heard voices, he thought he heard Kix, but no. Couldn’t be. He sounded panicked. Kix didn’t panic. Didn’t have it in him.

“Jesse! Jesse? Can you hear me.  _ Please _ .  _ Ruus’ner _ . Don’t you dare march away. You can’t leave me.”

“Karking hells, his leg is crushed.”

“How are we going to get him out of here?”

“Is he breathing?”

“Yes he’s breathing. We need to get him warm  _ now _ .”

That last one came out as a hiss. Jesse liked the the idea of warmth. He wasn’t sure if he remembered what that felt like. In fact, he tried to tell them that he would very much like that, but he was pretty sure his jaw was frozen shut, and it came out as a groan.

“Jesse?! Jesse can you hear me?” Still kind of sounded like Kix, but that panic is starting to freak Jesse out. He tried to tell Kix he was fine, really. He was just a little cold, but he still couldn’t get his mouth to cooperate. 

“Shh. It’s okay. Just, please hold on. We’re gonna get you out of here. Don’t worry.” Which was the last thing Jesse remembered due to the searing pain screaming up his leg. He might have gotten out a shout before blacking out.

\-------

Pain. _So much_ _pain_ , coursing through him, burning every nerve ending in his body. He was screaming, and would be thrashing if he wasn’t being held down by at least three brothers. 

“Shh, Jesse,  _ ruus’ner _ , know it hurts. It hurts so much, but you can make it. I know you can. Just hold on, a little longer for me, alright.” A soothing hand at his brow.

“What’s happening?”

“He woke up too soon. We didn’t have enough sedatives left to keep him out. He’s feeling  _ everything _ as he’s warming back up to temperature.”

He was in some sort of liquid, it was hot, everything was so hot. That wasn’t right. Hot didn’t even come close to describing it. The blistering heat coursing through his veins. Everything was on fire. He was still yelling, but sound was no longer coming out, having already screamed himself hoarse. 

“Oh thank fuck,  _ finally _ .”

“Bring it over here. Quick.”

“Where did we find more?”

“The 212th had two hypos left, Waxer just brought them over.”

Which was when Jesse sank back into sweet, force-blessed, unconsciousness.

\-------

Jesse awoke slowly and painfully. He tried to open his eyes, and found he couldn’t. Memories and panic started to surface. When he attempted to reach towards his face, he found his arms were secured.

“ _ Udesii _ , Jesse. You’re okay.” Kix’s calm, if exhausted voice, paired with a cool hand resting along his cheek, was enough to settle him.

“Why can’t I see?” Jesse attempted to ask, but it came out as a hoarse croak. 

“Don’t try and talk, you destroyed your vocal cords, and need another day or two of rest before you should even attempt to speak.” Kix gently ran his hand over Jesse’s scalp. “You can’t see because you got frostbite on your corneas, and they need to stay covered for at least a day. Poke will check on them then, and determine if they need more time.” Kix made an irritated noise, “I know what you are thinking, and no I am not your attending physician, Poke, Stick and Killer all vetoed that decision. Don’t think I don’t know you would be rolling your eyes right now if you could.” 

Jesse started to smile, but it turned into a wince.  _ Everything  _ hurt. Jesse lifted his hands a little, trying to indicate the soft, padded restraints. Kix sounded sad when he replied. “After the incident in the heated bacta, it was decided to keep you wrapped and restrained so you didn’t injure yourself further. You are covered in frostbite blisters, and ripping those open on your own? Well it would not have been pleasant.”

Kix was still slowly running his hand over Jesse’s scalp, it was nice, grounding. “I can ask to get them taken off, but you are likely going to get very itchy at some point soon, and they might be of more help.”

Jesse dropped his bandaged hands, and shook his head. He  _ knew  _ he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from scratching.

Jesse tried to take a deep breath, unfortunately his traitor body betrayed him and his breath hitched, and had trouble taking in another. He heard Kix shift and gently wrapped his arms around him, “It’s going to be okay,  _ ruus’ner _ . I promise. I’m not going anywhere.” 


	2. Kix's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kix's (and others) POV of the events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself, I had to write Kix's POV. I hope you enjoy!

Kix kept having to resist the urge to look back. Jesse had stayed behind to cover their tracks and make sure they weren’t followed. They were finally getting of this cold, godsforsaken rock, but they needed to make a clean takeoff, not fight the seppies off their backs for another day.

Kix rolled his eyes at himself, Jesse was  _ fine _ . He was Rex’s SIC, he knew what he was about. 

Kix turned sharply as massive explosion sounded behind them, shaking the cavern they were in.

“No.” Kix whispered. He looked to Rex, “We need to go back.”

Kix watched a multitude of emotions flicker over Rex’s face; fear, worry, calculation, duty; resignation.

“We can’t turn everyone back Kix, we need to get to the RV point.” Rex obviously wanted to be saying anything other than what he was.

“Let me take a squad.” Kix butted in before he could continue.

Rex blinked. “A squad.”

“ _ Yes _ , a squad. Let me take four  _ vode _ and backtrack.” He lowered his voice, “Rex,  _ please _ . Let me go back for him.”

Rex hated the thought of losing more men, but he could see Rex giving in. Not like Kix wouldn’t ignore him if he said no anyway. Kix was absolutely willing to go AWOL for Jesse.

Rex finally nodded, “Fives, Echo, Caliber, Hardcase. Go with Kix, see if you can find Jesse and bring him back.” He turned back to Kix. “Try and get to the RV point as soon as you can. We’ll wait as long as we can for you.” Rex placed a hand on Kix’s shoulder, “Bring him home.”

Kix nodded, and turned to the four  _ vode _ with a grim expression. “Let’s go.”

The five of them were fast jogging back along their path, Kix was in the lead. They were following the faint signal from Jesse’s comm. They stopped short, turning a corner, faced with a wall of fallen rock. 

They all looked to Kix. “His signal is faint, but still there. We  _ have _ to check. Let’s get to work.”

Luckily, the rock fall wasn’t too thick and they were able to get through near the ceiling relatively quickly. They shined their headlamps into the room, and found what they were looking for almost immediately.

Kix slid down the rocks and ran ahead, skidding out stopping next to Jesse’s head “Jesse! Jesse? Can you hear me.  _ Please _ .  _ Ruus’ner _ . Don’t you dare march away.  _ You can’t leave me.” _

Caliber stopped next to him, “Karking hells, his leg is crushed.” 

Hardcase looked around, “How are we going to get him out of here?”

“Is he breathing?” Echo whispered.

“Yes he’s breathing. We need to get him warm  _ now _ .” Kix hissed. 

Jesse stirred a little, like he could hear them. Kix turned back to him, “Jesse?! Jesse can you hear me?” Jesse sounded like he was trying to respond. Kix was trying to assess the damage as gently as he could before they tried to move him.

Caliber, grabbed Hardcase’s arm, and pulled him over to start looking at the rock on Jesse’s leg. 

“Shh. It’s okay. Just, please hold on. We’re gonna get you out of here. Don’t worry.” 

Caliber and Hardcase had set up a wedge and lever to lift the rock up. Fives and Echo got on either side ready to pull Jesse out.

Caliber looked at Kix before she and Hardcase leaned hard on the lever. Jesse’s scream of pain echoed throughout the chamber. Luckily, he blacked out quickly.

The four of them worked out how to get Jesse out while Kix quickly splinted his leg to attempt to keep it from getting bumped around too much.

Echo and Fives took the foldable stretcher and left the cavern to set it up. As soon as Kix was finished Caliber and Hardcase lifted him as gently as they could to get him out of the cavern. When they realized it wasn’t going to work, Jesse was passed to Caliber. Hardcase climbing directly behind to spot her in case she slipped.

Once they were back in the main cave system, the going was much easier. Caliber and Hardcase carried Jesse on the stretcher between them, syncing their stride to keep him as still as possible. Fives took point, while Echo brought up the rear. Kix refused to leave Jesse’s side.

They made it back to the RV point before the last larty took off. Rex still had his bucket on, but you could easily see his posture relax at the sight of them coming out of the caves.

Hardcase and Caliber secured Jesse in as Echo debriefed Rex, while Kix stayed protectively by Jesse’s head, whispering, and pressing their foreheads together.

Stick and Poke were commed ahead of time, so they had a warmed bacta bath ready for Jesse. They had been in the outer rim for an extended period of time, and were low on so many supplies. They were all running on field rations and recycled water. They were also completely out of sedatives, only having local hypos left. 

It was not nearly enough.

It was slow to start, groaning and struggling, attempting to get out of the basin. Soon enough he was yelling, mostly wordless screams, but sometimes the word ‘hot’ and ‘fire’ could be heard. Stick, Poke, and Killer had to hold him down when he started thrashing in earnest.

“Shh, Jesse,  _ ruus’nur _ , know it hurts. It hurts so much, but you can make it. I know you can. Just hold on, a little longer for me, alright.” Kix tried to soothe running his hand over Jesse’s brow. 

He started to calm with Kix’s encouragement, so Killer could back off, and let Stick and Poke work in the limited space.

Fives approached Killer, “What’s happening?”

Killer looked over to him, then back to Jesse where he was still struggling weakly, “He woke up too soon. We didn’t have enough sedatives left to keep him out. He’s feeling  _ everything _ as he’s warming back up to temperature.”

“Fuck,” Fives swore quietly. He understood Jesse’s reaction a bit better anyway. He couldn’t even imagine that kind of pain.

Killer turned as NJ trotted into the room with a small pack.

“Oh thank fuck,  _ finally _ .” Killer sighed.

Stick made a little gesture “Bring it over here. Quick.”

“Where did we find more?” Poke asked.

“The 212th had two hypos left, Waxer just brought them over.” NJ answered.

Kix was still completely focused on Jesse, running his hand over his scalp, giving soothing reassurances. 

Stick injected Jesse with one of the hypos, he stilled immediately, slipping into unconsciousness. 

Kix sighed heavily, and rested their foreheads together. Poke rested a hand on his shoulder, “You should get some rest while we work.”

Kix was gently holding Jesse’s head above the bacta, “Not yet. He’s going to blister. I need to be here for that.”

Stick looked up from where he was working, “No way, CMO or not, you are  _ not _ his attending. You are way too close to this.” 

Kix looked like he wanted to argue, but Killer softened Stick’s words before he could, “He’s right, Sir. You can stay, but you stay _for_ _Jesse_. Let us do the work.”

Kix looked up at Poke as he squeezed his shoulder again, “Okay.  _ Fine _ . But I’m not leaving yet.” 

They all nodded and got back to work. Poke sent NJ to grab some food, and clean clothes for Kix, so he didn’t need to leave, but they could all feel a little better about him staying.

Kix finally fell asleep once Jesse’s wounds, and frostbite was wrapped. He was in a chair, with his head resting on the bed next to Jesse’s hip, but it was better than any of them expected.

A full rotation after Jesse was warmed, blisters started to appear wherever he had been coldest. His hands, especially the one that had lost the gauntlet, anywhere there had been cracks in the armor, around the wound in his leg where the armor had shattered. His corneas had even gotten frostbitten, due to the split in his visor.

They had tried to keep Jesse out as long as they could, but after he woke up, he refused to be put under again. He luckily didn’t need to have the wrap around his eyes too long, not being as badly frostbitten as some other areas. 

Jesse’s recovery took time. The frostbite was extensive, but deep tissue hadn’t been frozen for too long, so there was less nerve damage than there could have been. He hadn’t been able to talk for almost a full week, he had damaged his vocal chords worse than any of them had realized. It broke Kix’s heart every time Jesse attempted to speak, and his deep melodic voice sounded so  _ wrecked _ .

The thing that took the longest to recover, was Jesse’s leg. His tibia was broken in multiple places, and needed a good amount of reconstruction. In his armor he was alright most of the time, but without, he would always walk with a slight limp.

General Skywalker was very supportive of the entire process, glad that Jesse hadn’t had to have anything removed. As much as he loved tech, in his eyes, the fewer clones that needed prosthesis, the better. He still did his usual rounds, visiting all the injured clones, as time allowed, but made sure to spend a little extra time with Jesse. 

Kix only left his side, when forced to. Either by one of the other medics, or Jesse himself. It was usually only long enough to shower and eat. Occasionally they would convince him to sleep in an actual bunk, usually only if one of the others would stay with Jesse. Once Jesse’s frostbite had mostly healed, Kix started sleeping in his bed with him. 

No one could agree on who was happier when Jesse was finally able to leave the medbay, Jesse, or the rest of the medics. 


End file.
